Tamitik Status of Women

The Wellbeing Experiences of Women in the Haisla Nation and the District of Kitimat

The Wellbeing Experiences of Women in the Haisla Nation and the District of Kitimat

Logo created by Miriam Windsor, a beautiful strong woman from the Haisla Nation.

Women’s wellbeing is multi-faceted, and affected by a range of social, interpersonal, economic, and
political conditions.

The Wellbeing Experiences of Women in the Haisla Nation and the District of Kitimat report is the culmination of a research project between Tamitik Status of Women, Haisla Nation, and the University of Guelph focused on understanding what life is like living as a woman in Kitimat and Kitamaat Village. By speaking to 130 women and young women from Kitimat and the Haisla Nation, the report details themes that emerged from these conversations, which include: physical environment, appropriate housing, discrimination, social isolation, technology, education, Indigenous culture, and migration, among others.

“For too long, the lives and experiences of northern women and girls in what is now Canada, have not been carefully considered in the face of community change. In places like Kitimat and the Haisla Nation’s Kitamaat Village, that are close to major resource extraction and development projects, people are deeply affected by the “boom” and “bust” economic cycle. Some people benefit, but many people do not. For example, when a few people with access to high paying jobs can easily afford goods and services, costs increase, and people without the same access find it harder and harder to afford basic necessities like food and shelter.”